Looks like I’m going to cheat my self-imposing rules; Lady Death is a character many people in comics know about. But who is she besides an example of the 90s anti-heroine archetype; and how does she have a following of thousands that throw hundreds of thousands of dollars at her feet? Let’s start at the beginning.
A Young Man’s Fantasy
Lady Death first appears as a hallucination by the character Evil Ernie. Ernest Fairchild is a telepathic serial killer who suffered abuse from his parents. Not understanding their son’s ability, they took their frustrations out on him. The rest of the townspeople did nothing to help Ernie since the Fairchilds owned the business their town runs on. Eventually Ernie encounters LD herself during a psychology experiment. Taking advantage of the love he so desperately needs, she entices Ernie into being her herald. By killing in Death’s name, Ernie strives for the apocalyptic Megadeath to free LD from Hell. But after a few series in, this becomes less about getting attention and more about falling in love. But where does this love come from?
Lady Death: The Tragic Figure
If just being an idol to gawk at is enough to generate a following, Lady Death wouldn’t be so iconic. LD is very manipulative and even uses her sexuality to get people to do her bidding. But even then, her creator Brian Pulido wants LD to be more than T&A. It’s why she has her own character and story to follow outside of Ernie. Considering that Lady Death bears a resemblance to Pulido’s wife/company president, Francisca, this is a given. Which is where Lady Death’s origin comes in.
Where Hope Goes to Die
Before Lady Death was Hope, in more ways than one. The daughter of the mad medieval Swedish lord Matthias, Hope spends her days suffering at his hands. Even the townsfolk want nothing to do with her after Matthias sends so many men to death in wars. The only exceptions are Hope’s nanny and her boyfriend. But these two are more than just an escape from persecution; they’re a means for Hope to learn and better herself. One of those include treatments to the plague from her scholarly boyfriend. Unfortunately, she gets branded a witch by the church for this. It certainly doesn’t help that her dad practices demonology.
While Matthias is able to send his soul to Hell as a demon sorcerer; Hope nearly gets burned alive until she escapes with her father’s magic words. With death, torment, and destruction around every corner, Hope finally snaps. By gaining allies to help fight against her father and even Lucifer himself, Hope rebrands herself as Lady Death.
As LD defeats and overcomes the challenges, she is cursed to remain in Hell as long as the living walk. So to hack the curse, LD has Ernie cause a nuclear apocalypse to wipe out all life. All while dealing with a number of rivals who threaten her such as Purgatori and Lady Demon. Each battle threatening to send her into despair and servitude. Yet LD persists due to both her fury towards exploitation and the love she finds in unlikely places. She doesn’t even need Ernie to walk on Earth after many trials, becoming a symbol of independence that defies the status quo until the very end.
You Can’t Hold Her Down
Eventually, LD becomes the centerpiece of the Chaos Comics universe, even more than Ernie. I guess she has a powerful hold on Pulido too. But while LD could overcome Heaven and Hell, for a long time, she couldn’t overcome the gods of comics. Even Lady Death is not enough to keep Chaos Comics from going bankrupt. While Ernie, Purgatori, and the rest of the the Chaos universe get licensed to other publishers; Pulido is unwilling to give up his muse. So at CrossGen, LD has to make changes to appeal to a larger audiences.
Needless to say, it doesn’t work out. No, no, Lady Death does fine despite the retcons; but the rest of the company goes bankrupt. Even an anime-style movie can’t help; not that it does much good. Neither would Pulido allow himself to work with CrossGen’s new owners at Marvel. Instead the Lady Death license goes to Avatar Press, where she paves the way for the Boundless imprint. That name’s not just for branding you know.
Shifting Sides
While this comes with a retconned origin, it demonstrates Lady Death adapting to change. This new origin comes with an identity conflict. Does LD remain true to her original goal of conquest/devastation; or does she cling to her mother’s exploitive ideals? Now Lady Death is no longer the vengeful bringer of darkness, but a warrior who strives for her freedom.
After 10 years, LD finally gets that freedom from publisher mandate after the end of Lady Death: Apocalypse. With the end of one world comes the advent of a new one. Through crowdfunding on sites like Kickstarter, Pulido decides to make LD truly independent. With no woes from publishers or deadlines and an already established character, the move is successful.
This Coffin’s Not For Burials
In their new Coffin Comics, Brian and Francisca use Lady Death as the platform for their new universe. Continuing after the finale of Apocalypse with another retcon, Lady Death has a lot of hype. Yet there really isn’t a lot of room to develop the character in the initial releases. In fact the breakneck pace of the series require a lot of background knowledge to fully appreciate. As for the other parts of the Coffin universe like La Muerta, they share the themes of vengeance vs. independence. It’s practically a competition to usurp the classic bad girl from her throne. But LD’s not giving it up without a fight.
Lady Death Against the World
If anyone has to guess what makes Lady Death so successful, it’s not just her looks but her journey. For over twenty years, LD builds an identity from a means of attracting adolescent male readers into a symbol of overcoming tragedies. LD spends years being overlooked, yet she proves to all the naysayers wrong about her. LD is a creative force that pushes boundaries wherever she goes. Without her, the rest of the Chaos universe characters have become hollow shells. Avatar Press meanwhile opened itself up for more mature content because of her. Pulido himself devotes his career to Lady Death, making her the center of his new universe.
I wonder if it’s Lady Death or Francisca who holds Pulido in her hands. Thanks for coming and as always, remember to look between the panels.